✅ My Sister's Problem

76. Explanations

This bonus chapter is dedicated to twilight, with thanks again for all the support you have given me. Thank you!

"She made me wet the bed!" Lindy exclaimed, and glared at me. I didn't know how she could have figured it out, but it wasn't something I could really deny. I'd been angry; I'd felt like I needed to get some kind of revenge just because what she'd done had been so far past the limits of good taste that I couldn't imagine forgiving her. But what had I let myself in for now?

"Are you sure about that? You weren't just too tired to wake up when you needed to go?"

"No. You have to punish her. Give her the full baby treatment. With those... you know. That's one thing you said isn't allowed, trying to make me have an accident. You can't let her get away with it."

"Fine," Mum nodded. "Just so we're clear, if you've been trying to make your sister use her diapers, your punishment is to spend the rest of the week as a complete baby, with both of the extra things I've found to make you feel more helpless. Does that seem fair? Lindy?"

I nodded silently, my knuckles already white where I was gripping the edge of the table. I couldn't understand how she'd found me out. But I'd taken revenge after Mum specifically said I shouldn't; and I knew that some punishment was earned.

"Yeah. No mercy, throw the book at her." Lindy grinned, bouncing in her seat with excitement at her triumph.

"Okay," Mum said again. "So, she made you wet the bed. And how did she do that?"

"She put my hand in a bowl of water. It's the trick Harper did to her at a sleepover. She was bluffing, saying she used some herbal thing, but it was actually just that. It really works, it's not a myth, and she did it last night." I almost laughed then. Lindy didn't have a clue, which surely meant that she didn't have any actual evidence. Still, the accusation could have been enough. Especially when Mum had talked to me about that prank before.

"And how do you know that?"

"I heard her moving about. About half past twelve, I woke up and I could hear her moving outside my door. I covered myself up and stopped my sleep book. I was going to surprise her when she came in, yell and make sure you could catch her in the act. But I... I guess I fell asleep again first."

That made sense. And I knew about the sleep book; that told me what time it had been. For years now, ever since she started having trouble sleeping, Lindy had set a story from one of her favourite websites, FictionLibrary, reading out loud in a monotonous computerised voice. I'd heard chunks of some of them, and they ranged from weird to terribly written; and there were pieces that I was sure weren't suitable for a kid her age. But she was just using the dull droning of that computer voice to help her sleep, so I guessed she didn't even know what half of the books were about. I'd heard the book last night when I went to the bathroom, but not when I came out. So she must have heard me waking up in distress.

"Lindy," Mum answered. "You know I can tell when doors have been opened in the night, don't you? And when I just went up to discover you lying in a puddle, your door had been locked from the inside. Sally, on the other hand... she was woken by what they call gastrointestinal distress in the middle of the night. Allergies, you know? Something she ate or drank yesterday must have gotten contaminated with paprika. I was still up after midnight, making sure that all our stuff was put away properly. I heard Sally's door click when she opened it, because the last person to lock it had been me after we played Mister Tunes to put her to sleep. I saw her run straight to the bathroom. And I was standing outside when she came out again. I invited her to come downstairs, so that if she got any more stomach cramps she could rush to the bathroom downstairs without disturbing you. She was in here talking to me for an hour and a half, maybe a little more. Then I went up to her room with her and put her to sleep again. When I came to check if she wanted breakfast, her door had last been locked from the outside. So she hadn't left her room again, unless you went in there as well. And nobody had been in your room since you went to bed. So perhaps you'd better rethink your unfounded allegations?"